Pages

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

The Mike Kelly Era Is Over

SAINT JOHN - The Sea Dogs have "parted ways" with head coach and general manager Mike Kelly.

Here is the full press release from the team:

The Saint John Sea Dogs have announced that they have
parted ways with Mike Kelly.

Kelly had been the head coach and general manager of the
Sea Dogs since the summer of 2012. Before that, he was the team's associate
coach and director of hockey operations for three seasons beginning in 2009.

"Mike Kelly is a man of integrity, and decisions
like these are never easy," said Sea Dogs' President Wayne Long. "It
is our duty to do what we feel is in the best interest of our team. We will
always be grateful and appreciative of what Mike has done for the Sea Dogs'
organization."

The Sea Dogs expect to name a new head coach in the
coming days.

So this was certainly unexpected.

Hard to imagine this is based solely on the Sea Dogs
start to the year. They are playing pretty much like they were expected to in
year two of this rebuild. Bizarre move.

How exactly are the Sea Dogs in a free fall? This is a rebuild year. They are 5-10-2. What were your expectations for this season?

I'm not trying to say it was the wrong move - we'll see how this works out - but yeah, firing a coach/GM who has the team moving in what appears, IMO, a good direction 1/3 of the way into a season is just a bit unexpected. Sorry.

Why is it a second terrible rebuild year? Am I imagining that he said he didn't pull the trigger on the Brandon Gormley deal because they didn't want to give up too much future, and took shots at Shawinigan for overpaying? Both teams are equally bad, but Shawinigan has the 2012 Mem Cup to show for it.

The Gormley deal is debatable, and probably will be for the next few years. But remember the Sea Dogs had three straight 50+ seasons, three trips to the finals, and two Mem Cup births. What did Shawinigan do over that three year span? The Sea Dogs were able to have three excellent seasons compared to Shawinigan's one. Personally I'd rather have SJ's track record compared to Shawi's, and if that means being equally bad for a couple years, so be it. But that's just me.